Best Overall

HP Stream X360

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HP makes a lot of great convertible laptops, even for those looking for a lighter computing experience. What you get with the Stream X360 is a laptop that can be used like a tablet when you want to be feet up on the couch, but becomes a more traditional experience if you want to get some work done.

With a touchscreen you can enable tablet mode and never need to worry about a keyboard. You’ll get great battery life, solid specs and a terrific price.

Bottom line: One laptop for all situations.

One more thing: You’ll also get a year of Office 365 free of charge with one of these.

Why the HP Stream X360 is best

You don’t have to compromise everywhere even if you want a more casual laptop.

Folks often find themselves being seduced into spending a lot more than they really need to on a laptop. It’s easily done, especially when you see some of the latest and greatest, but if you’re a light PC user focused on web browsing and social media primarily, there’s no reason to throw your money away.

There’s no reason to throw money away on an expensive ultrabook

What you get in the HP Stream X360 is some of the experience you’d get with a more expensive machine, slimmed down and dramatically cheaper. The Intel Celeron processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage won’t go too far if you’re a more intensive user, but for web and social it’s absolutely fine.

The benefit to snagging an X360 is that it’s a convertible, which means you have a touchscreen that folds all the way around. So if you like to browse and catch up with your friends while you’re on the sofa, you’ve got yourself a Windows 10 tablet.

Without spending a lot of cash you’ve got a versatile laptop that’s also slim and light enough to throw in a bag and take with you wherever you go.

Non-touch

Lenovo Ideapad 100s

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The Lenovo Ideapad 100s is one of the finest cheap laptops money can buy. If you’re not interested in a touchscreen but still want great battery life, a solid build and a highly portable machine, this is the one to go for.

There’s 32GB of storage, 2GB of RAM and a bunch of ports to connect your accessories to. The hinge on the Ideapad 100s also folds completely flat, so you can still relax while getting on with your personal computing.

Bottom line: No touchscreen but one of the best budget laptops you can buy.

One more thing: The Ideapad 100s can be had with either an 11-inch or 14-inch display.

Large screen

Dell Inspiron 15 5000

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Casual use doesn’t mean always going for a small laptop. If you’re less concerned with sitting on the couch and more with having a big screen and somewhat capable hardware, grab this 15-inch Inspiron from Dell. And grab it in a variety of stand out colors!

The Intel Pentium processor is backed up by 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, which means this is capable of being your computer for web and social, as well as your media collection and some light work.

Bottom line: Big and bold with capable hardware and a great price.

One more thing: Dell has a great warranty should anything ever go wrong.

Best 2-in1

ASUS Transformer Mini

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Convertibles are great, but if you want something that is a tablet most of the time while still behaving like a laptop when you want it to, the ASUS Transformer Mini is the one to go for.

It’s got more powerful hardware inside with an Intel x5 processor, and the touchscreen also has pen support. Add to this Windows Hello with a fingerprint sensor on the rear and a great keyboard cover, what you’ve got is a tiny little Surface-a-like that you can use anywhere to get your web on.

Bottom line: ASUS’ take on the Surface 3 is the best small 2-in-1 you can get right now.

One more thing: The pen and keyboard come in the box making it a great value package.

Conclusion

Great laptops like the HP Stream X360 prove you don’t need to spend a fortune if your use case is less demanding and focused on primarily web and social browsing. It gives an all-round experience, behaving like both a laptop and tablet, perfect for putting your feet up and catching up on the day.

But the strength of the Windows ecosystem means there are other great choices out there, too.

Best Overall

HP Stream X360

See at HP

HP makes a lot of great convertible laptops, even for those looking for a lighter computing experience. What you get with the Stream X360 is a laptop that can be used like a tablet when you want to be feet up on the couch, but becomes a more traditional experience if you want to get some work done.

With a touchscreen you can enable tablet mode and never need to worry about a keyboard. You’ll get great battery life, solid specs and a terrific price.

Bottom line: One laptop for all situations.

One more thing: You’ll also get a year of Office 365 free of charge with one of these.